Touch-type input terminal apparatus for pointing or specifying position on display device

• US 5,376,947 A
• Filed: 10/06/1992
• Issued: 12/27/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Electronic Corporation (Pioneer Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Electronic Corporation (Pioneer Corporation)
• Inventors: Kuroda, Kazuo
• Primary Examiner(s): BRIER, JEFFERY A
• Application Number:
  US07/956,970
• Time in Patent Office: 812 Days
• Field of Search: 340/706, 340/709, 340/712, 178/18, 178/19, 345/173-178, 345/104, 345/179
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

An input terminal apparatus for inputting, to a display device which has a screen and displays input information on the screen, positional information indicating a position of the input information displayed on the screen, is provided with: a touch sensor device including a sensor area having sensing points which number is less than the number of pixels of the screen, for detecting a touch condition on the sensor area per each of the sensing points; and a detection result outputting device, which is coupled to the touch sensor device, for sampling the detected touch condition periodically at a predetermined time interval and outputting detection data indicating the detected and sampled touch condition as a detection result. The input terminal apparatus is also provided with: a memory device for storing the detection data outputted from the detection result outputting device; and a calculating device for calculating a vector quantity of a moving amount on the screen corresponding to a moving amount of the position touched on the sensor area, on the basis of the detection data stored in the memory device, and outputting movement data indicating the calculated vector quantity to the display device.

Claims

1. An input terminal apparatus for inputting, to a display device which has a screen and displays input information on the screen, positional information indicating a display position of the input information displayed on the screen, said input terminal apparatus comprising:

a touch sensor means including a sensor area having sensing points which number is less than the number of pixels of said screen, for detecting a touch condition on the sensor area per each of the sensing points, said touch condition comprising at least one of a touch pressure and a total touched area;

a detection result outputting means, which is coupled to said touch sensor means, for sampling the detected touch condition periodically at a predetermined time interval and outputting detection data indicating the detected and sampled touch condition as a detection result;

a memory means for storing the detection data outputted from said detection result outputting means; and

a calculating means for calculating a vector quantity of a movement of said display position on said screen corresponding to a movement of a sensing point touched on said sensor area, by calculating a direction of the vector quantity from a direction of said movement of the touched sensing point, and by calculating an absolute value of the vector quantity from a distance of said movement of the touched sensing point and the sampled touch condition, on the basis of the detection data stored in said memory means, and outputting movement data indicating the calculated vector quantity to said display device.

2. An input terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said calculating means is adapted to calculate the direction of the vector quantity by comparing two consecutive detection data successively sampled by said detection result outputting means, and calculate the absolute value of the vector quantity by use of detection data which follows said two consecutive detection data.

3. An input terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said detection result outputting means comprises a touch detecting means for detecting coordinates of the touched sensing point of said touch sensor means, and a touched area detecting means coupled to said touch detecting means for detecting a touched area on said sensor area in response to an output of said touch detecting means.

4. An input terminal apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said calculating means is adapted to calculate the absolute value of the vector quantity on the basis of the touched area detected by said touched area detecting means.

5. An input terminal apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said calculating means is adapted to adjust the calculated vector quantity on the basis of the touched area detected by said touched area detecting means.

6. An input terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said memory means comprises a plurality of memory devices including a first memory device for storing the present detection data which is detected at the latest, and a second memory device for storing the detection data detected prior to the present detection data.

7. An input terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said memory means comprises a memory for storing the movement data outputted from said calculating means.

8. An input terminal apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said calculating means comprises a switching means for selectively output one of the movement data once stored in said memory, and the movement data Just outputted from said calculating means.

9. An input terminal apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an oscillator for generating a clock, said detection result outputting means sampling the touch condition in synchronization with the clock.